Missing Halves
by Centurious The Azure
Summary: Companion One-Shot series to Two Halves. Little pieces that didn't fit together... You were lost. Now, you're found. Female Protagonist/OC.


**Missing Halves**

Hey, guys. This is Centurious the Azure, author of Two Halves. I'm gonna be explaining what this entire set of one-shots is gonna be about. These are little companion pieces of my story Two Halves. Some of these are gonna be one offs that didn't make the cutting room floor of Two Halves. Others are gonna be moments I thought about from Two Halves that happen in between the moments. Gotta warn ya, these one shots are gonna contain spoilers for the story. So, if you don't want to know certain things about the future plot details of Two Halves, please don't read ahead.

Alrighty. Let's take moment to explain the prose of Beautiful Traitor. In another version of Two Halves, Runako was gonna be Akihiko's dead sister Miki. She was used by Ikutsuki for experiments in Stega project. She eventually escaped with Takaya, Jin, and Chidori. For years, Miki assumed the name Runako because Ikutsuki gave her it. She was Strega's little con artist. She got them all kinds of goodies with her acting skills. Miki was good at what she did. So much so that Takaya ordered her to infiltrate SEES. Miki kept up the charade for months. She got to be their co-leader with Minato. It seemed that Strega was gonna be sitting pretty by the end of this war. What Miki, and Takaya didn't expect was that she'd get to like her mask. She assumed her persona. Made all kinds of bonds… And she got to love a boy named Kuro. She was torn between who she was, and who she was becoming. Eventually the events of Shinjiro's death made her choose. Even still, she's still struggling to decide who she is and where she belongs. Underneath this moonlit midnight, Kuro confronts a girl who deceived him. A girl he learned to love… Mask or no mask.

That said… Alright! Let's go on with the story!

**MISSING HALVES 1: BEAUTIFUL TRAITOR**

Kuro stared at Runako, no Miki... That was her real name. Yesterday, he found out about his girlfriend's true allegiances. Miki had been lying to him the entire time. Everything was one big lie... His molten gold eyes narrow on her. "You were a spy this entire time..." Kuro quietly whispered, hand touching on his choukuto sheathed behind him. They stood on the empty space of the Moonlight Bridge. Meters of space separated them. Kuro knew he could cross it in an instant. "For Strega..." He nodded firmly to himself. "Those guys who put Shinji-senpai in a coma..."

She put a hand on her hip, "Yeah, I'm with Strega. I have to say, it's pretty sad it took you this long to figure it out?" She said arrogantly. "I'm disappointed Kuro. I expected more of you." Her heart ached to have to say such hard things, but it was necessary...

Kuro's face darkened behind his bangs. His blade hissed free from its sheath. Suddenly, it impaled into the ground. He looked longingly at her. "I'm..." His anguished eyes went from gold to solid black. Disarmed of their killing intent, he stared across the distance at her. Kuro couldn't believe how nice this traitor looked underneath the pale moonlight. "Going to give you an offer. Come back, Miki. I don't know what you've been through, or what you've had to endure with those guys... I just know your place isn't with them. It's with me. Takaya can't give you what I'm offering you. It's a future. You said once that's something you always wanted... I didn't get why you said that at Yakushima. I do now. The girl who told me that was the real Miki... She worked her way into my heart."

She looked away slightly, trying to hide the tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Kuro. But I'm afraid it can't be that way." Miki's voice cracked slightly. Her normally flawless mask was slowly cracking. Nothing about it was convincing. All of her lies were nothing in his eyes. Kuro was her only weakness. He made Miki show her true self. That was something the real Miki loved, and feared about him. How could one person make her feel like this? "I won't deny the times I spent with you guys were fun. But Takaya is the one who saved me. He's the one who sheltered me. In another time… Another life. We could have had something." She finally looked him in the eye. Warm tears ran down her face, nothing about it was fair. Nothing about her façade remained. "But the fact is…you're trying to stop our goals and I can't allow that."

"Indeed..." A familiar melodious voice agreed amiably, boney fingers touched Miki gently on her slight shoulder. "Miki does understand suffering at its core." Takaya smirked thinly at Kuro. "Someone like you cannot begin to understand what we've been through together. Am I right, my dear Miki?"

"Hello, Takaya." Miki greeted her "savior" stiffly. She always felt uncomfortable at the emaciated man's touch. It was something she'd always tolerated. Being owned by another wasn't completely bad. It had always been for survival's sake. Surviving… living for its own sake was just enough. That was why she practiced, and practiced her façade until it became a part of her. Now, only a sliver of it remained. "I missed you guys." Miki lied. It barely was enough to sound substantial. Ever since she joined SEES, Miki had begun to slowly shift her opinions on how she lived. Living happily seemed like a nice idea. Really, it was a far off dream. One she didn't think she didn't deserve to grasp. "How is Jin doing? It's been a long time since I saw him."

Takaya's fingers ran up her neck to Miki's soft auburn locks. Miki shivered inwardly. She only truly wanted Kuro to treat her so gently. Any other man just seemed so wrong. She desperately wanted to swat that death like hand away. "Quite well..." Takaya didn't lose his smug expression when he looked to Kuro. Enjoyment danced into Takaya's equally gold eyes. Molten rage swam in Kuro's opposing gaze, Takaya indulged in his pure anger. Takaya chuckled. "Look at him, Miki. He stills seems to think you're his woman. How amusing."

"He's just a silly little boy, Takaya. He's not even in my league. Do what you want with him. I don't care." Miki airily waved Takaya off. One simple gesture sent her heart slamming into the pavement. One more stomp was it all it would take to shatter her fragile dreams into a million tiny pieces. This was the way it had to be. Her sins were too great to be pardoned. Miki had lied, cheated, and stolen so much for her own sake. She was a selfish little girl who deserved to be punished.

Takaya languidly withdrew his pistol from his pants, arrogant smirk twisting into a foul grin. "Say goodbye..." His S&W .357 barked. Kuro thudded to the ground. His flat stare eyed Miki emptily.

"And so it's done." Miki hollowly concluded. Everything came to a head right here. It was both their grim death knell. She might as well have been-

"I don't think so..." An eagle's scream tore through the empty green midnight. Kuro stood behind Takaya, maliciously sneering in his own right. Those illusory eyes of his shifted from dull coal black to vendetta laden molten gold. A single thrust had his hand pierce through Takaya's rib cage. Takaya looked down in horror at Kuro's bloodied hand jutting through his chest. "How...?"

Miki took an alarmed step back; she wasn't expecting this to happen. Everything about it was so sudden. Nothing about it made sense.

The dead "Kuro" dissolved into thin wisps of fog. Miki knew his illusion in the aftermath whenever she witnessed it in the aftermath. Everything about his mirages was so lifelike. Was she still trapped in it now? "You were caught in my net the moment you looked into my eyes..." Kuro airily explained. "Didn't Miki tell you about my special ability? I guess it must have slipped her mind."

"You…bastard." Takaya rasped, his gun clattering on the hard concrete ground.

Kuro wordlessly pried his arm from Takaya's chest. His pale form thumped to the pavement this time; body a mess of bloody, emaciated ephemeral nothing. He glanced towards Miki, fluctuating dark orbs lacking the empty coldness he reserved for Shinji's assailant.

Tears ran down her face. Spaghetti legs sent her sliding to her knees. Everything she planned was shattered in an instant all by one boy. She was really that powerless in the face of events. Expectations of another form of punishment were all she had to look forward to.

Nothing of the sort came. Ikazuchi's endless chattering finally came to a halt. Kuro joined her on his knees. Strong arms embraced Miki tenderly; he ran his non bloodied hand in comforting circles in her back. Wordless comforting her when she sobbed guilty tears.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She repeated. All of her emotions poured out. Miki couldn't continue acting any further. Her guilty conscience was too much to bear.

He shook his head, whispering lovingly into her ear. "You've got nothing to be sorry for..."

"I lied to you!" She wailed, protesting the staying of her castigation. "Aren't you angry? I deserve it! I deserve every bit of your hate!"

"I could never hate you..." He told her firmly, pulling her back to look her in the eye. His coal eyes lacked any trace of anger, or hatred. They only echoed innocent love for a girl who wanted so much more for herself. He understood. Kuro understood better than anyone else who Miki was. "I love you, Miki..." He confessed truthfully. "Nothing you did could ever change my mind."

Miki leaned in to kiss him, long and deep. Despite everything, it felt alright to give herself up. Nothing made her happier than to hear those words from his lips. It wasn't like she was when she was bound to Takaya. She was merely a piece of property in his possession. Miki felt truly whole in Kuro's arms. He made up for the pieces she was missing herself. "I love you too, Kuro Narukami." Miki whispered lovingly in Kuro's ear. Her breath was an inviting, warm zephyr. "You've made me whole again."

Kuro hugged her even tighter after their passionate kiss. He hatefully glared at Takaya's bloodied body. This was his first time ever using Ikazuchi to damage a human like that. For some reason, he missed Takaya's vitals. If someone got to him with a heavy heal spell, he'd live. Unfortunately...

"What are you going to do with him?" Miki asked cautiously. It might have been wise to kill Takaya here… That was her old brain talking. Survival of the fittest had always been her prerogative. A lot of her experiences in SEES had changed her perspectives. Mercy was something Takaya ascribed as being for the weak. He laid there completely helpless. Who was the weak one now?

He shrugged carelessly. In another life, she might have argued in contradiction of such high thinking. "Leave him to fate. I hate him, but I won't kill him. I won't ever sink to his level."

Miki held her gaze for a few more minutes, quietly considering Takaya's bloodied form. _If you live…_ Miki silently determined, ruby eyes shined intensely. _We'll meet again as enemies, Takaya._ "Come on…let's get out of here."

Kuro suddenly swept Miki into his arms, deigning to carry his girlfriend bridal style. He stared into Miki's ruby like eyes; He'd never seen them look so clear. Miki's light body felt very relaxed in his strong arms. It was like Miki had been relieved from a heavy burden.

She buried her face in his shoulder, taking in his scent. It was the scent of ozone in the aftermath of a fresh lightning strike. Like his mother said… He was the lightning between the rain. "Take me home, Kuro, back to our friends."

He nodded slightly, smiling lovingly down on his girlfriend. "Let's go." They headed off into the emerald stained midnight. Kuro blushed a bit at thought that crossed his mind. "Hey, Miki." He carefully started. "Let's get hitched..."

"Really?"

"Seriously." Kuro confirmed solemnly. Nothing about his affectionate gaze proved false. "I want to make you happy. We won't ever have to be apart that way. I'll make you forgot the concept of ever being lonely."

"Okay." Miki cooed agreeably. Kuro was truly a wonderful boy. He was really trying to make her happy. It was a little ridiculous, though. Two teenagers getting married out of the blue without paying any heed to anything except for their love. It was terribly idealistic. Miki couldn't deny liking Kuro's childish optimism. It was like a bright ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

Kuro placed a small wooden box in her hand. He smiled sheepishly. "I had to borrow a lot of money from Minato-senpai to afford this..."

Miki's eyes lit up. "Oh you really did mean it!"

"Open it..." Kuro grinned widely. His smiles had to be one of the truest things in existence.

With trembling fingers she opened the box, revealing a plain white-gold engagement ring. "It's so beautiful!" Miki squealed exuberantly. Even if it was a simple engagement ring… It had to be absolutely the most beautiful thing she's seen in her life. 'Put it on me!"

Kuro tenderly slipped it on her lithe finger. Miki felt something burn passionately in her chest. It was the Aeon reaching its final peak of power. The lovely Fool felt all the love of an unbreakable bond run through her body. A voice warmly whispered in her ear. Gifting her permission to use every bit of the power she'd gathered.

"I think I know what I want to do next." she giggled, smirking devilishly. Miki could think of so many ways to thank him.

Kuro's slightly pointed ears perked up visibly from behind his black locks. He blushed brightly, completely getting what Miki was implying. "Your room or mine?"

"Either will do!" she whispered, finding herself blushing intensely. This wasn't the first time she'd given herself to him. The impending session between them felt like something more… Miki didn't know how to explain it. Everything simply felt warmer to her. Nothing she could say could define it evenly.

Her Aeon laughed brightly. The Dark Hour visibly winked from green to true black midnight. The street lights flickered back on, bathing the side walk in radiance. For a moment, you could see the stars in the sky. It was really a sight to behold in the city. "I think we'll have to be extra quiet on the way in..."

She kissed him again, a small playful peck on his neck. "Then, let's be like the shadows!"

The two walked continued out onto the illuminated streets of Iwatodai. Slipping in between the cracks of darkness an alleyway provided. Miki didn't worry… She was invincible in his arms.


End file.
